


Achromous

by jenefur



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Inside Out Au, M/M, Nothing Explicitly Described, alternate perspective, minor references to torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 13:32:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4306974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenefur/pseuds/jenefur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Winter Soldier Retelling: An Inside Out AU</p><p>"Panel's still down?"</p><p>"Panel's still down."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Achromous

“Panel’s still down?”

“Panel’s still down.”

Fear sighs, hands rubbing his face, before he looks up at the screen. 

James is on a roof, rifle aimed at an apartment building. It’s dark out. Fear can barely make out any light from where James is looking.

It had been 2 days since the last time the screen had been turned on. The time before that was almost 6 months ago.

“I don’t understand why it’s not working,” Anger says, flames starting to build up in his hands. It’s a common statement, spoken every time the screen turned back on. The panel is large, full of buttons that used to shine with an array of color. Now, it sits noiselessly, with a dull, gray hue. It hadn’t lit up once since they took James in.

“Maybe it will reset next time he goes to sleep,” Disgust remarks, a sneer present in his tone. It’s an unnecessary statement. 

James had not entered R.E.M since the panel went out.

“Joy…” It comes from the back of the room, a shy, soft voice, permeating throughout headquarters.

Fear keeps his eyes on the screen.

“Joy… James is up. Are you going to watch with us today?” Sadness quietly says, peering up at Joy. 

There’s no response.

“Joy…” Sadness says again, his voice dipping this time. Fear looks back at them. They’re facing the giant glass window, Sadness hunched over slightly behind Joy. 

Joy still says nothing, his gaze focused on the empty parkway. There were 10 structures once, vibrant and alive. 

Now, there’s nothing. 

“Joy…” Sadness tries again, grasping onto Joy’s hand and Fear turns away, eyes back towards the screen. James is still on the roof, view focused on the apartment building.

Then, James moves. It’s slight, just an adjustment, but they all know what it means. Anger’s mouth forms into a snarl, Disgust’s lips purse. Fear looks away and can still hear Sadness’ quiet “Joy” ‘s echoing in the room.

They hear the shot rather than see it. As soon as it’s done, James is running, leaping and bounding over rooftops, away from the scene.

It’s like watching a dream; James is gliding over everything, barely touching the ground. He’s a bird, flying over the buildings in waves, never slowing down. 

The sequence was similar to one from before: James watches, James fires, James runs. The same pattern repeating, over and over and over again. 

It’s like watching a dream, except James won’t wake up. 

James makes it to the end of the roof, before he stops and turns, arm grabbing out at something. 

“Who the hell is that?” Anger says, leaning in closer. Fear’s eyes widen as he gazes up at the screen.

This was different. The sequence had changed. 

There’s a man on the other side of the roof. 

Fear can’t see who it is, can’t make him out in the darkness of the night, and feels increasingly alarmed. 

This pattern, when played, was always the same; James watches, James fires, James runs. No one had ever interrupted before. 

This was different.

James’ view stays on the man for a second, before he jerks, and is off and running again. He bounds off the building and walks straight towards a parked van on the side of the road. 

Fear watches, and the alarmed feeling inside him slowly fades into a dull sense of dread. The man on the roof might have been unexpected, but this was part of the pattern.

This happened every time.

“Mission report,” A man says from inside the van. He was broad, covered entirely in Kevlar, an unpleasant expression planted on his face. 

“I _hate_ that guy.” Anger says, flames clearly showing on his hands now.

Disgust nods in agreement, sneer taking over his face, “He’s repulsive.”

Fear is not designed to know hatred or repulsion, but he understands the Feelings. 

“Complete.” James says. His voice is quiet and soft. As soon as he speaks the words, the screen cuts out.

When it shuts down, Fear sighs, hands coming up to rub his face. 

“Do you…”A small voice sounds behind him as he turns way from the panel. Sadness shuffles closer, hands nervously bundled together as he looks at the screen, “Do you think it’ll turn on again?”

“Of course it will,” Anger replies dismissively. His eyes are also focused on the screen, “and the next time he does, James will wake up, and everything will go back to normal.” Though his voice sounds confident, his hands twist and turn, tiny embers flicking off of them. 

Disgust’s lips purse tightly, but he nods in agreement. 

Joy says nothing.

Fear looks at them, before going back to the screen. 

It had been 2 days since the last time the screen turned on. The time before that was almost 6 months ago.

And though Fear feels the thin thread of optimism in the room, he can’t help but worry that this time will be the last.

-

The first time Fear wakes up, he’s alone.

The room he awakes in is dark, with only a screen lighting up the space. There’s a small panel in front of it. 

He approaches the panel tentatively, fingers fiddling in front of him. 

The screen flickers on. 

The view is horrifying: twisted faces, bared teeth, a loud chorus of voices screaming, “Oh he’s adorable! I could just eat him up!” 

It’s too much, too _loud_ , and Fear feels a swell of panic rise in him. A purple button lights up on the panel.

Fear pushes it.

Immediately, a wail breaks out, a sharp piercing cry vibrating throughout the room, filling up the space. 

The twisted faces grimace and move away. 

There’s nothing for a moment, just Fear and room and the cry. Then, another face appears on the screen. 

It’s softer than the others, shyer. It comes up to the screen tentatively, moving slowly and steady. The figure coos a bit and then says a quiet “Hi, there James.”

It backs up, tilts its head, and smiles.

“This could be ploy,” Fear mumbles to himself aloud, “a different strategy. Shouldn’t risk it.” His hand reaches out to press the button again.

As he’s about to press it, another hand stops him. Fear jumps and turns to his right. Next to him, stopping his hand, is another figure. He’s yellow, and smiling, and so very _bright_. 

“You really should try to be more positive,” the figure says, a laugh caught up in his voice. The figure turns to the panel and presses a bright yellow button. A burst of light shines from the panel, floating over the space in waves, and the room is full with immense sense of _Joy_.

Fear turns back to the screen. The crying has stopped and is replaced with a quiet gurgling. The figure smiles wider and lifts the screen (‘James’, Fear thinks, _‘James’_ ), carrying it to another room. 

The bright, yellow being, _Joy_ , continues to push buttons on the panel, letting the gurgling noise get louder and louder. As the figure carries James around, they pass a mirror, reflecting James’ imagine back onto the screen.

It’s the first time Fear sees James smile.

-

One day after _the last time_ , the screen turns back on again. 

It’s day, mid-afternoon, and James is chasing people. 

Fear doesn’t know who they are. He doesn’t ever know who they are. But James was told to chase them, so Fear must watch him do it. 

This sequence is similar to one from before; James chases, James catches, James runs. 

It’s a pattern they’ve all come to recognize. 

Except this time, things are different.

“That girl’s really good…” Sadness says shyly, looking up at the screen, watching as the woman once again gets away. 

They’re all watching the screen with bated breath and twisting hands. It had been a while since any of them had seen James fight someone up close.

“Hm.” Disgust hums lightly, lips curling, gaze trailing down to examine his hands, “James is better.”

As he speaks the words, a shot reigns out and Fear can hear the woman scream. 

“See. Told you.” Disgust says lightly. His eyes are still focused on his hands. 

They all know what’s coming next. This sequence is similar to one from before: James chases, James catches, James runs. 

Anger glares at the screen, Sadness fiddles with his shirt. Disgust won’t stop looking at his hands. Fear turns back and looks at Joy. He’s still standing away, eyes out the window, gaze focused on nothing. 

Fear looks back at the screen and waits. 

James lands on a car and they can see the whites of the woman’s eyes. 

Then, something happens. 

There’s a movement to the right and suddenly James is fighting another man.

“What the hell…” Fear hears Anger mutter beside him. He can feel Disgust and Sadness looking at him, but Fear doesn’t take his eyes off the screen. 

The fight with the girl had been different, but the end result would have turned out the same. This wasn’t just different.

This was _new_.

The man takes a swing at James and James swings back. It’s like they’re dancing, James taking a step, the other man meeting him, punch for punch, metal on metal. 

It’s graceful and blinding all at once. Fear can’t make out any of the details. 

Then the man loses his shield. 

James grabs the man by the neck and pulls him close. It’s only a second, one frame and he’s gone, but in that moment, Fear feels the air in the room change.

“Fear...” Disgust says, voice high and alarmed, but Fear’s eyes are on the screen, fixated, watching the fight continue. 

‘That’s not possible’, Fear thinks, looking down at the panel. The panel’s lights are still out. ‘That can’t happen.’

The screen’s viewpoint shifts then steadies; James is being thrown. When it levels out, it looks directly at the other man and Fear feels like shaking.

It looks like him; the clothes are off and the hairs a bit short, but it looks just like him. Fear can’t move his eyes away from the screen.

The other man stands and looks right at James. He looks shocked. He looks worried. He looks scared. 

His mouth begins to open and before Fear can hear what he has to say, a voice sounds from behind him.

“Steve.”

Fear turns and Joy is there, eyes wide, looking up at the screen.

“Who the hell is Bucky,” James mutters, gun raised, aiming for the other man.

“No no no no no,” Joy says rushing up to the panel, before the view goes out of focus. Another man has joined the fight. 

The panel’s still out. They can’t do anything. So Fear watches, gunfire coming into view, as James goes through the last part of the sequence: Run.

“We have to…” Joy starts, voice gravely and strained, “We have to wake him up. We have to wake James up.” 

“We don’t know that it’s him-“ Fear starts, but Joy is already moving frantically around the room, grabbing every memory orb he can. Without hesitation, the others join him. Pulling memories off the shelves, one by one, they shove them into the projector. 

‘Wait, _wait!_ ” Fear starts, panic in his voice. ‘This is trap. This is a trap, this is a _trap-_ ’ he thinks, running towards the others. But Joy is too zealous in his endeavor, pushing memories into the projector, fragments coming in waves, one after the other after the other. The snippets of time play on the screen, once shining in a gold hue, now dim and dark and gray. The scene projects loudly around the room: James and Steve listening to a Yankee game. The memory ends and replaced by another and another: James and Steve at a bar, James and Steve at school, Steve smiling, Steve, Steve, Steve, Steve, _Steve_. 

After a handful, Joy runs back to the panel and looks up at the screen. 

“Come on James, “ Fear hears him muttering, his eyes glued to the view. 

James is still running; it’s part of the sequence. Fear already knows what’s coming next. 

As soon as James hits the parked van, the screen cuts out. 

“No…” Joy mutters, shoulders sagging, hands resting themselves on the panel.

Fear looks down at them.

The panel still won’t light up.

-

James is 8 when Fear meets Steve Rogers. 

James is in front of his apartment building, playing with the other neighborhood boys. Joy is at the panel, gleefully pushing buttons as James runs and laughs and smiles. 

Friendship Island blares loudly from behind the glass. 

James is playing tag, pushing other boys and running as fast as he can. As he’s avoiding another grab, he runs straight into someone, who goes careening into the street.

“Hey!” Fear says, rushing to the panel, “I told you this game was too rough...” He says, pushing a purple button. 

“Oh, it fine,” Joy says, waving his hand dismissively, “We’re just playing.” Though his tone is flippant, his eyes look concerned. The boy on street is small; he hadn’t gotten up yet. 

Fear pushes another button.

“Hey... are you ok?” James says slowly, making his way to the smaller boy on the ground. He reaches out and before his hand can touch him, the other boy pops up.

“That was great!” The boy says, beaming up at James. His whole face shines on screen, golden hair bright against the dark pavement. 

The panel glows yellow. 

“New park opening!” 

Fear looks at Joy. His eyes are wide as he looks up at the boy. Then, he smiles, hands moving around the panel, pushing the bright yellow buttons. 

He looks excited. He looks happy. 

Fear makes his way to the back of the room, towards the glass where the others are standing. A new park is forming.

It’s small, not as large as Friendship Island or as grand as Yankee Stadium, but it’s there, growing steadily.

“I’m James, but people call me Bucky.” Fear can hear James say, as Bucky Bridge extends to the constructing park.

When the park forms, it glows with a golden hue that extends across the parkway. A large plaque sits at its crest. 

Fear reads the plaque and knows the boy’s name before he says it aloud. 

_Steve_.

-

“It’s him.”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“Yes, we do. It’s _him_.”

It had been 10 hours since the screen had last turned on. Ten hours since they’d seen the mystery man. 

The panel was still out.

“We don’t know that.” Fear says again, looking towards Joy, “It could just be a coincidence, a guy who looks kind of similar-“

“He knew his name! Not even his name, his nickname!” Joy says coming forward, hands pointing towards the screen, “If it’s just a coincidence, how would he know that?”

“There are easy ways to find that out,” Anger grumbles, “You think it would slip these people’s mind to not have information like that? I don’t know what this, but its not good. This could be a trap to get James to react.”

“They’ve certainly made James do worse things.” Disgust sneers out, eyes on the blank screen. 

“No, no it’s him, I _know_ it is,” Joy says again, moving towards the panel. His hands rest on it, forming into fists.

“It… it did look like him,” Sadness says quietly, coming up towards Joy. 

“It _can’t_ be him,” Fear says, softly, but firm.

“Why not?” Joy says wildly, looking at Fear, “Why can’t it be him?”

The room is quiet for a moment, before Fear steps forward. 

“You know why.” He says, looking at Joy. Before Joy can respond, the screen turns back on.

James is in a chair and the man who gives him orders is sitting in front of him. 

Fear feels a chill go through him.

“Mission report.” The man says sternly. Fear looks down. The panel is silent.

“Mission report, now.” The man says again, louder this time. 

The panel is still out. They can’t help James.

The man stares down at the screen before the screen goes out of focus. A loud slapping sound echoes throughout the room.

Fear can feel Anger flare up behind him. 

As the screen refocuses, a gleam catches Fear’s eyes. On the panel, a button starts to glow.

Fear rushes towards it, looking at it frantically. It’s small and dim, but it’s there: a light yellow button. A yellow hand curls around the rim of the panel.

“It’s him.” Joy says quietly, looking at the yellow speck, “I know it is.”

He looks at Fears, gaze unsteady, but sure.

Fear looks down. The light is still there, shining lowly. It’s a golden glow on a dark panel. 

Fear nods. “Ok.”

Joy presses the button.

“The man on the bridge,” James says, voice gravely from disuse. “Who was he?”

“You met him earlier this week on another assignment.” The man in charge says, lip pursed, eyes stern.

The button glows insistently, pulsing ever so slightly. Joy presses it again.

“I knew him.” James says.

“Your work has been a gift to mankind, “ The man says, adjusting in his seat, “You shaped the century. And I need you to do it one more time.”

The yellow button glows again.

“Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning, were going to give is a push. But, if don’t do your part, I can’t do mine. And Hydra can’t give the world the freedom it deserves.”

Joy pushes it.

“But I knew him.” James says. He sounds hopeful.

There’s a pause. The man in charge looks at the screen with a contemplative expression. Then he says, 

“Prep him.”

“No.” Joy says, shoulders sinking, looking at the screen.

“He’s been out of cryo freeze too long.” Another voice says.

“Then wipe him,” The man in charge voices out. He looks angry, “And start over.”

“No no no no, “ Joy says, crumpling on to the panel. Fear looks down. The yellow light is gone.

Another man approaches James, a mouthpiece in his hand. This sequence is similar to one from before. They all know what’s coming.

Anger flares up, flames completely encasing his body. Disgust’s hand comes up to his mouth. Sadness is by Joy, hand on his shoulder as his quiet “no’s” echo throughout the room.

When the panel surges and comes down, Fear looks away and waits for the screaming to stop.

-

It had been 2 months since these people took James. 1 week since James had entered R.E.M.

Nine of the parks are gone. 

There’s only one left.

They had done a good job of holding them off, with Anger taking lead, his large, red hands slamming onto the panel. 

And then the ringing started. 

“We’re not going to let them take him. Not again.” Anger says, flares shooting out of his head. As his hands pressed the buttons, the screen jerked and pulled, James’ body willing itself to move. 

“It would be best,” a voice sounded from outside the screen, “If you just did what we require you do to, James.”

“Nope.” Anger says, pressing another button. The screen jerked wildly again. 

“What’s that noise,” Sadness said, slowly walking up to the panel. It was a low noise, a quiet sound, but Fear hears it too: a building ringing sound filling up the space.

“Just ignore it,” Anger said swiftly, hands moving frantically across the panel. 

“Whatever it is, its sounds terrible.” Disgust mumbled from the side of Anger, hand pressing a button on the panel. 

“James,” The voice sounds again. It comes out soft and gentle. It’s oddly soothing. “You really must try not to struggle. You’ll make this more difficult than it needs to be.” 

“It’s getting louder,” Sadness said, creeping closer to the panel. The ringing was louder now, sounding like an alarm, a persistent ring echoing throughout the space. 

“It’s ok, “ a voice sounds from the back and Fear turns to look at Joy, “It’s ok. They’re going to get him out like they did before. James is going to be ok.” He’s facing the glass, eyes focused on the remaining park. He hadn’t stopped looking out there since the parks started falling.

“James,” The voice comes again, louder this time. The ringing sounds faster now. “It would be best if you listened. After all,”

The voice pauses and a projector appears in James’ view. A newspaper article shows on the screen: “Death of Captain America: A Nation Mourns.” A giant picture of Steve lines the paper. 

“What would your dead Captain think of your behavior?”

The ringing is shrill now, deafening, but Fear can’t hear it. All he can see is the image of Steve on the screen, the words flashing, over and over: Dead, Dead, Dead. 

“That’s…that’s not real!” he hears James say. The words sound unsure. 

“Oh yes, James, yes it is.” The voice sounds again. The projector moves, and image after image, show the same thing: a plane went down, no body recovered. 

“That’s not _real!_ ” James says louder this time, but the words come out strained. Fear looks down. The panel is bright blue.

“Sadness don’t… don’t touch the panel-“ 

“I’m not touching anything.” Sadness says. He’s not. He’s not touching the panel at all. His eyes won’t move away from the screen. 

It had been 2 months since these people took James. 1 week since James had entered R.E.M.

The ringing still won’t stop.

“I can make it go away, James.” The voice says, soothingly, “I can take the pain away. Make you happy.”

The panel is a scorching blue now, rays of light jumping off the panel.

“Fear?” Anger says, voice light. His eyes are focused on the screen. 

The panels on the projector shift and turn, distorting Steve’s face into a horrifying image. 

It’s too much, it’s too _loud_. Fear doesn’t know what to do. 

He looks back to Joy.

Joy hasn’t moved. His gaze is intently focused on the parkway. 

Fear looks back at the screen.

“All you need to do, James,” the voice sounds again, “is comply.” 

At his words, Fears hears a shifting above the ringing sound. The wall of memory orbs, filled overwhelming with yellow, moves.

“Take a deep breath.” The memories shift again. 

“Calm your mind.” The ringing is louder now.

“Compliance” Fear takes a step towards the memories.

“Will be rewarded.” It’s quiet for a moment, just the shrill, ringing sound. The panel still shines a bright blue. And then James whispers:

“Yes.”

Immediately, the room starts to shake. It’s abrupt, it’s violent, and it shakes them off balance. Fear lands on his side onto the floor, teeth gritted, eyes shut. When he opens his eyes, the memory wall is shaking, orbs shifting left and right. When Fear’s eyes focus, he can see the colors of the memories, once blue and red and yellow, start to fade, turning into a dull, dim gray. Row by row, they change.

He looks back. The port holding the core memories is open. They’re still bright and clear.

“We have to get to the core memories.” He says, voice frantic and panicked, “we have to get them out right now!”

All at once they move, Fear, Disgust, Sadness, and Anger, charging towards the core port.

Fear grabs a hold of an orb, grits his teeth and pulls, but it won’t move. Hands still pulling, he looks at the others.

They’re all pulling, Disgust and Sadness working together, Anger grabbing two orbs at once, flames breathing out of his hands. None of the orbs will move.

‘We need more help,’ Fear thinks, still frantic, ‘we need-‘

“Joy!” Fear screams out, looking towards the glass. Joy hasn’t moved, gaze still focused on the one remaining park. He seems stuck there.

“Fear,” Anger says loudly, calling him, “The orbs-!”

The gray color is spreading, taking over the port. Fear pulls harder, but he can’t get them to move. After a minute, the color fades out. 

The core memories are encased in gray.

There’s a loud bang and the shaking ends. When Fear turns around, the screen has completely cut out and the panel is devoid of color. 

He runs towards the screen, leaving the others, who are still trying to pull the orbs out. 

The ringing sound hasn’t ended. 

When he gets to the panel, the buttons sit in a pale, gray tone. No light shines from them at all.

Fear presses a button and looks up at the screen. Nothing happens. 

So he presses them again, multiple buttons at once, but nothing happens.

The screen won’t turn back on.

There’s a rumbling again, a tremble that rocks the room. It’s different from the last time. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see all the Feelings run towards Joy and the glass. 

Fear looks down at the panel, hands shaking against the lifeless buttons. He closes his eyes. He doesn’t have to look to know what’s happening. 

Joy screams when Steve’s park falls.

The panel stops working after that.

-

When the screen turns back on, the man who is Steve, but not, is standing before them. 

He looks so familiar, his shield displayed, shoulders broad and strong. The uniform even looked the same.

Whoever sent him did a very good job at making this man look like Steve.

Joy is at the panel’s base, to the right of Fear, hands gripping the edge tightly.

The lights are still out. 

“It’s him.” Joy mumbles lightly. He looks over at Fear, eyes intense and sure. “It is.”

“Joy,” a voice from behind sounds. Sadness stands between them and places his hand on Joy’s shoulder, “it’s not.”

Fear keeps his eyes on the screen. 

The man and James collide and it’s a wave of movement all at once. Arms hit arms, hands clench to fists. Metal strikes metal.

‘Its not him,’ Fear thinks as the man reclaims his shield, ‘its not.’

This fight with the man is different then the one from before. It’s not like a dance; there’s no form or structure. It’s gritty and dirty, both men tackling each to the ground and swinging wildly. 

It’s like a schoolyard fight from before, when James young and happy. When James’ life was made up of light. 

The man who is Steve, but not, grabs James from behind and pulls his arm back. James screams.

The panel is still out. They can’t do anything.

The view on the screen blurs out then shuts off. When it turns back on, James yells.

A part of the structure is on top of him. His arm is broken. He can’t get out under it.

The panel under the screen pulses then hums. The gray buttons stay unlit on the panel.

Fear swallows down and looks at the others. “If he doesn’t get out of there…” he starts to say, but his voice trails off. All of their eyes look to the panel, at the gray, dull buttons. 

All, but Joy, whose wide eyes stay focused on the screen. 

Suddenly, James grunts. The other man is there, the one who is Steve, but not, and he’s lifting the structure up. 

“W-what?” Fear says, voice shaking and uneven. This wasn’t supposed to happen. If this was a trap, which Fear was certain it was, the man was not supposed to help James.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

The panel shakes and stirs beneath the screen. A purple button flares up.

“You know me,” the man who was not Steve says, lips bloody, eyes sad. 

“It’s him,” Joy says in a hushed tone, “Fear you know its him-“

Fear presses the button. 

“No I don’t!,” James yells, smashing into the man. 

“Fear!” Joy yells out, ‘It is him, its _Steve-_ “

“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes.” The other man, who isn’t Steve, its can’t be _Steve_ , says, sounding more and more worn out.

The purple button shines brighter than before. Fear presses it.

“Shut up!” James yells as the hits the man again. 

The man rips his helmet off and Fear starts to panic because even if this man isn’t Steve, it looks so much like him. Too much like him. 

The panel’s buttons pulse with purple. 

“Bucky,” the man says. He looks so tired. “You’ve known me your whole life.” 

The panel glows again with multiple buttons now, all blaring purple. 

“You’re my friend.” The man says and Joy groans beside him. 

“Fear _please-_ “

Fear presses the button.

James charges at the man and strikes him down. “You’re my mission.” Fear hears James say, and the image on the screen focuses in. The man, who looks so much like Steve, lays back and lets James hit him over and over and over again. 

The panel is still bright purple, buttons waiting to be pressed. Fear’s hand hovers over one.

“Then finish it.” The man says softly. Fear’s hand lowers down. “Because I’m with you ‘till the end of the line.” 

Its like gust of wind filling his chest as Fear looks at the screen. The others look to him with shocked expressions. That’s not a phrase you can teach. That’s not a name or a date or a time. It’s something only he would know, something only _Steve_ would-

“It’s him,” Joy says, hand reaching out, grasping his hand, “it is.”

And he believes him, so Fear breathes out the name:

“Steve.”

There’s a shake, a rumble, and blinding force of light. When Fear can open his eyes the panel is lit with color. 

“Its on?! It on!” He hears behind as the other Feelings rush to the panel, looking at the colors excitedly. 

Fear looks up at the screen, smile etched on his face when he sees it. Steve is falling. 

“We have to,” Joy starts, eyes wide, “We have to get him. We have to-“

But Fear is already moving, pushing a sequence of purple buttons rapidly. James dives in. 

When James fishes Steve out and places him on the shore, he doesn’t look good. His golden hair doesn’t shine.

“Is he?” Joy says, softly, anxious.

Fear presses a button. 

When the screen zooms in, Steve is breathing. 

Joy lefts out an audible sigh of relief and immediately moves to the panel.

“We have to stay, we have to make sure he’s ok.” He says hands moving to the newly lit yellow buttons. But Fear grabs his hand.

“You know we can’t do that,” he says quietly. There’s too many variables. Too many risks.

Joy looks up at the screen and glances at Steve’s face. Then he closes his eyes and smiles.

He looks tried. He looks sad.

“Ok.” He says, moving his hand away.

“Ok.”

-

“We’re going to be friends forever, right Bucky?” Steve’s face glows on the screen, the sun lighting up his face. His golden hair shines against the black pavement. 

“Forever is a long time…” Fear says hesitantly, pressing a button on the panel. “We don’t know what could happen.” He leaves what he means unsaid. There’s a war coming, people are starving. Steve keeps getting sick.

“That’s true.” Joy says coming up to the panel. He looks towards Fear and smiles, “But,” his hand hovers over a bright, gleaming button, “we can try.”

And the room becomes bathed in yellow.

-

James is at a museum. There are pictures, clothing, and relics of war.

He walks and the name “James ‘Bucky’ Buchanan Barnes’ come up on the screen.

The memories are still out, dull and gray.

But the panel gleams brightly in color.

For the first time in 70 years, James Barnes looks at his name and _feels._

**Author's Note:**

> This is un-beta'd so if u see any issues let me know
> 
> You can come talk to me here if you'd like: [x](http://sokovia.tumblr.com/)


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